Editor:
I would like to comment on Tiara Fuller’s Aug. 1 column, “Clubs on campus are racist and divisive.” First, Fuller states, “Going strictly by club names, white males are excluded from joining more than 35 clubs.”
I believe judging a book by its cover is the worst habit one can get into. If society were to judge everything from an initial impression, we might as well assume that all business majors don’t appreciate the arts or that modern-dance majors don’t enjoy science classes.
Such assumptions are foolish and counterproductive.
Second, Fuller states, “organizations such as (multicultural student groups) are racist, sexist and divisive, and are not beneficial to society.”
So, according to Fuller, groups that organize under one’s ethnicity, culture, sex, disability or sexual orientation should not exist because they do not benefit society.
If this were an acceptable practice, then Martin Luther King’s African-American civil rights movement should have not occurred because that would mean only African-Americans were included in his cause. The same would be true for the women’s rights movement because it would be assumed that men were excluded. Hopefully, these examples illustrate how Fuller’s reasoning does not make sense.
To clarify the actual truth about student clubs, it should be known that student groups do not exclude anyone from membership.
If Fuller would have properly researched her topic, she would have noticed in ASUU guidelines that “membership for any student organization must be open to all University of Utah students; without regard to gender, race, color, ability, creed or sexual orientation.”
It is naive to believe that a student group would purposely discriminate against others.
Last, Fuller states that multicultural clubs are sheltering members and protecting them from the “real world.” Unlike Fuller’s beliefs, multicultural groups do not instill fear of inadequacy into members, but rather strengthen members so they can be more competitive and better prepared when they graduate.
I am a member of the Hispanic Business Student Association and our club does not avoid interaction with people, but instead embraces positive relationships, whether the person is a white male or a disabled female of color.
The University of Utah is a melting pot which contains a mixture of people from all around the world. Every member of the University of Utah possesses unique characteristics and has the right to celebrate their differences.
James R. LeybaSenior, Business Finance